Gauchos Hope to Get Offensive in 2011, Open Season Friday

When the 2011 UC Santa Barbara women's soccer team opens the
season against Idaho in Las Vegas on Friday, they will make an
all-out effort to be offensive.

No, UCSB won't be looking to offend anyone's senses, but rather
to improve on an offensive output that saw them score just 23 goals
in 19 matches in 2010.

To improve on their goal-scoring, the Gauchos will look to their
past and to their future. They return four important veterans
who sat out the 2010 season with a variety of injuries, three of
them offensive contributors, and add a pair of newcomers who should
have an immediate impact.

"The four returnees all feel like rookies," said
13th-year head coach Paul Stumpf. "All three have
had multiple injuries, so it's good to have them back."

Of the three, Stumpf said that Roby, an attacking center
midfielder, has been outstanding early on.

"Katy has really been lighting it up," he said. "The game
was taken away from her for the first time in her life last
year. Now, she seems to appreciate every second on the
field. Sitting out and watching gave her a totally different
perspective and now she just has such a better understanding of
things."

Another veteran expected to carry a big part of the load is
junior Erin
Ortega, whether up top or in the midfield. Last year,
Ortega had three goals and three assists for nine points.
Stumpf hopes that she and Mead, a member of the under-18 National
Team Pool who can also play attacking midfield or forward, can make
a connection on the field.

"Erin is a key returnee," he said. "She can play in the
midfield or up top, either way she will be on the field. Indy
(Mead) is very talented and fit. Because of her fitness, she
is very active and makes herself tough to mark. If those two can
find each other more, it would be a very good thing for us."

Senior forward Alissa
Sanchez is yet another returnee who should have a hand in
UCSB's success. She saw significant action as a junior in
2010, scoring a pair of goals and assisting on a third. This
year, she is expected to play as a wide attacker or wide
midfielder.

"Alissa Sanchez has had her best preseason since she's been
here," Stumpf said. "She has great fitness and
outstanding speed in tracking people down. I expect her to
have a very good season."

Anderson, an accomplished goal scorer at the junior college
level, could be one of the team's most pleasant
surprises.

"Dyanne is quicker, faster and more tenacious than what we
expected," Stumpf said. "She has a knack for putting the ball
where she wants. Overall, she is better than expected."

Romanowski, the fourth of the injured returnees, started on the
backline as a junior in 2009, but in 2010, she injured her foot in
the second game of the season and missed the rest of the
campaign. In 2011, she could split time as a holding center
midfielder or defender. In the midfield, Romanowski will be
joined by her fellow co-Captain, Cory
Yoshida.

"They are very good at holding balls, swinging it and moving
things forward," Stumpf said. "The other important thing
about Cory and Nicole is that we know we can count on them for
leadership from their midfield positions."

Sophomore Erica
Shelton and freshman Kelly
McGrath (Littleton, Colo./Chatfield HS) have been impressive as
well and both could find their way into the starting lineup during
the season.

"Erica is so intelligent and skilled," Stumpf said. "We
originally planned to play her out wide this year, but she has also
been playing so well at attacking center mid that we are thinking
about playing with two at times. Eventually, she will be an
attacking center mid.

"Kelly is really good," he continued. "She will be
involved spelling our midfielders, but she should get some starts
too."

The obvious strength of the Gauchos is definitely their
defensive unit.

"Last year, if you take out the two games where we gave up four
and three goals, we allowed just 14 goals in 17 games," Stumpf
recalled. "Three-fourths of that group is back, so I think we
should be good again. Benjamin and Romo are our most
competitive and toughest players and our defenders reflect
that."

"Miranda is very talented and Taylor had a good spring," Stumpf
said. "I expect that they will earn playing time as
well."

The last line of UCSB's defense might, ultimately, prove to be
the best.

Sophomore goalkeeper Makenna
Henry started all but two matches as a freshman. She
recorded all of the team's wins, had 58 saves and posted a 0.93
goals against average. After off-season shoulder surgery, she
should be even better.

"She is so confident right now," Stumpf said. "Getting so
much playing time as a freshman was really good for Makenna.
She is also more fit and her leaping ability is better. I
think she could have a really good season."

Clearly, UCSB's defense has an opportunity to be stellar once
again, but the success of the Gauchos will undoubtedly hinge on
their ability to score goals. If a few of the pieces that
Stumpf and staff have assembled can fit together and start
clicking, the rest should take care of itself.

Season tickets for UCSB women's soccer, as well as men's soccer,
are available now. In fact, for every men's soccer season
ticket purchased, a women's soccer season ticket is included!
There are numerous great ticket plans available, so call
805-893-UCSB or click here for more information.

Santa Barbara will face a challenging schedule in 2011. In
addition to UC Irvine, which won the Big West regular season
championship and ultimately advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA
Tournament, and Long Beach State, which won the Big West Tournament
and also played in the NCAA Tourney, there is a tough
non-conference slate. The non-conference home games include
match-ups with traditional powers Minnesota, Santa Clara, Fresno
State, Pepperdine and New Mexico. The road games include
Michigan State, UNLV and San Diego State.